Teacher's Prayer

I want to teach my students how
To live this life on earth
To face its struggles and its strife
And to improve their worth

Not just the lesson in a book
Or how the rivers flow
But how to choose the proper path
Wherever they may go

To understand eternal truth
And know the right from wrong
And gather all the beauty of
A flower and a song

For if I help the world to grow
In wisdom and in grace
Then I shall feel that I have won
And I have filled my place

And so I ask your guidance, God
That I may do my part
For character and confidence
And happiness of heart

~ James J. Metcalf ~

Better than a thousand days of diligent 
study is one day with a great teacher.

~ Japanese Proverb ~

When I was in high school I had a teacher who believed in me.
I was in 8th grade and we had an assignment to write a book that we considered publishable.
I chose to write a children's poetry book.  That was considered a little weird by my friends 
back in the 70's.  They all chose to write books about the issues of the times or rock and roll, 
but from the beginning I knew what I wanted to do.  I made the book in the shape of a teddy bear 
and filled it with poems that I had written. I handed in my assignment but I wasn't really sure 
what to expect.  When I got the assignment back I was so happy to see that I had gotten an A+. 
As much as I appreciated the A+,  it was not the grade that impacted me the most. 
It was actually the teacher's comments on the back of my book that I remember the most. 
She saw beyond the words on the paper to "the sweet, gentle soul" that had written them. 
To this day that is the only assignment from high school that I ever kept. 
Her encouragment to write and her kind words still move me every time I read them. 
Thank you Mrs. Hillias for being the kind of teacher who really made a difference.

Site Contents © donnas-designs - All rights reserved
Graphics contained on this site are copyrighted and are not public domain.
All graphics not created by me are copyrighted to their original creators and 
must be downloaded from the original artist using the links provided. 
If there is no link provided, the page has either moved or is no longer available. 
Please do not remove graphics from this site without permission. 
Thanks so beary much!